Tips for dealing when the power is out

[Lee M-S]

Anybody got tips to offer? Helpful now or for next time?

Water purification:
Boiling is the most certain way of killing all microorganisms. Boil for at least 1 minute.
Or use bleach, add 1/8 teaspoon (or 8 drops) of unscented liquid household chlorine (5-6%) bleach for each gallon of clear water (or 2 drops of bleach for each liter or each quart of water),
Stir the mixture well.
Let it stand for 30 minutes or longer before you use it.
Store the disinfected water in clean sanitized containers with tight covers.
This was from the CDC website at: http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergenc...sonal.html

Bonus: bucket showers
1) take a bucket, soap, shampoo to your catchment tank or other water source. Note: don't wash OVER the water, let used water fall on the ground.
2) go back and get conditioner.
3) optional: put on dirty clothes so you can launder them while showering (like you don't do this when the power is on)
4) dump a bucket of water over your head. Shampoo your hair letting shampoo spread over your body (and optional clothes). Suds up well.
5) rinse with more buckets of water. Condition and repeat.
6) drip your way back to the house because you forgot a towel.


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[Carey]

Like #6... been there done that!

7. stop by a friend with warm showers & fluffy towels & enjoy!


Hurricane (oil) lamps were something we have always had... make sure you have fuel for them!

have a few "7-day" candles or a bunch of tea lights, with matches or lighter.... but do not store the candles upside down or sideways (OK this storm we found out the 7 day candles stored sideways start crawling out of the glass!)

always have your freezer full, if there is an air space, fill it with things to make block ice (bags, plastic containers & such) this will prolong the food storage if needed, and if not needed by you, may be needed by others, so you can share!

be open to sharing & receiving help, so many of us have the "I can do it on my own"... but in long term storms like this, sharing helps!

[csgray]

A good quality spray bottle makes a great instant "shower" when you don't have running water.

Carol

[Carey]

Also the "bladder" of a wine box makes a good shower

Found this out decades ago when I bought a potable camping shower that was the inside of a wine box with a nylon bag...for a lot more that the cost of a nylon bag! (that was in the years wine the box wine can with a rubber stoppery thing that could rip...as did my portable shower stopper!)

[4antares]

Look into Berkey water filters. Used by red cross and other relief agencies worldwide for providing potable water from just about any source when safe water is not available. Don't require any power, simple to use. And the water is great.
There are also a number of propane camp showers with 12v pumps available that can run off of a car battery to power the pump if needed.


life is short. enjoy it

[Lee M-S]

A couple more:
Add betadine/iodine povidone to your medical stockpile for cleaning cuts and scrapes. It's used in the ER, kills all kine germs

Call Helco and let them know your power is out. Sounds dumb, but sometimes an area doesn't get on their list. Also, squeaky wheels really do get greased, so get your neighbors to call, too. BE POLITE--they must be getting all kinds of crap from people.

(One time a few years ago, I patiently waited 9 hours to call, at which time they told me my area had power, must be a problem with my line. I could see my neighbors didn't have power, so I insisted, and they came out; power came back on a couple hours later. If I had called sooner, I would have had power hours earlier.)

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